Punctiation Remains An Art :)

you’re born you live you die.

I Love, I Believe

Decisions. So many of them. One leads to another. Is it the right decision? Am I making a mistake?

I feel I should do this, but others think it's wrong. I feel I am making the right decision. I will write what I feel.

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Leaves of Grass

Poem Thirteen

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"I behold the picturesque giant, and love him- and I do not stop there;

I go with the team also."

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I love him. Just like I love the odorless atmosphere. I love him in the same way she loves the twenty something bathers. I love with passion, I love perfection. I love the unknown to me. I love tiny details.

I admire the expression of the oxen.

I believe in colors. I believe in purposes. I believe I am like the turkey-hen. "I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise" (16) I am all nations, all genders, all ages. I am all. We are all.

I will always have myself. I will always have everything. I have everything without taking everything. "I breathe the air but have plenty after me, And am not stuck up, and am in my place (16).

There are many suns. Many suns I cannot see. I don't need to see them to believe they are there. I play music for the slain people. I believe in losing as much as I believe in winning. I believe in equality. The meal should be fairly distributed.

I do as I wish. I see myself in others. As I judge them, I judge myself.

I love myself. I am the most superior being. Who else can I pray to?

I accept reality. I understand things happen. I am not looking for an apology. "I see that the elementary laws never apologize (20).

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I believe in the moment. So many things going on. I pay attention to everything. I believe in myself. I am what I am. You may notice me, you may not. I'll be satisfied either way.

There's no death. Time is eternal.

All Part Of Time

Usually, when something happens in your life, you start to relate everything to it. My grandfather passed away last Sunday, so that's pretty much all I think about. It's so much information to process in so little time. I feel hypnotized. His death hasn't quite hit me yet, but I still feel his absence. As I'm thinking all of this, I'm reading Leaves of Grass. I know I have to focus. This poetry is so rich in content, it calls for my full attention. I stumble across a line: "What I know I like" (1), and then I realize that's what's been making me feel so empty.

Usually, the unknown is terrifying. When there's something in your life that has been there for a long time, regardless if it's good or bad, you will learn to like it.

A clear example of this is Clara Rojas. As she was being freed, she was hugging her abductors. Why would she hug the people who kidnapped her? It's now that I understand they became a big part of her life. They were what she knew and what she learned to like.

The same thing happens with my grandfather. I've lived with him for almost all my life and not having him around the house is something new to me. Something I obviously don't like.

Going back to Leaves of Grass, I really like how Whitman plays with time. First, he gives us the feeling that he is all knowing. He does so by using words like "shall" and "will be". "You shall possess the good of the earth and sun- (there are millions of suns left)" (2). Then, he mixes the past, present and future: "I have heard what the talkers were talking, the talk of the beginning and end; But I do not talk of the beginning or end" (3). When he says "beginning" he's referring to the past, as he talks about the "end", he's referring to the future and he himself is a clear example of the present. Pretty interesting. It gives the impression that the past, present and future are all the same. And coming to think of it, they are the same. Just as we in a sense, are the same too. The past, the present, the future, the ones who died, the ones who are still with us, they, we, are all part of time.

My Grandmother's Style

A typical conversation with my grandmother goes like this:

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"Hi grandma. How are you?"

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Usually, when you ask people how they are, their response is no longer than 5 words. My grandmother takes this question pretty seriously. After thinking about it for some time, she'll answer something like:

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"What can I tell you... I'm happy because I've been walking without a cane. But I do feel tired all the time. I've had a good week though. I saw my dear old friend Inesita. Inesita de Gonzalez. Poor Inesita, her husband Alberto is sick again. Do you want some cookies? I bought them yesterday. The cashier was so nice. Her name was Anita. Ohhh, I didn't tell you. Your cousin Anita is playing the flute. I never liked that instrument but I wasn’t going to tell her that...”

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She will go on and on, jumping from one topic to the next. After some time, you will not understand how she's able to connect so many things together. By the time you two stop talking (if she stops talking, that is), you will not remember what she was going to tell you in the first place. I love my grandmother, but if you're willing to have a conversation with her, you have to prepare yourself for several hours of boredom.

A Simple Soul, is similar to my grandmother. It starts talking about Madame Aubain’s life. Then it starts describing the rooms in the house. Before you know it, you’re reading about how “Her father, who was a mason, was killed by falling from a scaffolding” (PDF).

The difference between my grandmother and A Simple Soul, is that Flaubert is able to link topics successfully. His links are strong and logical. In fact, they are so successful, they become our eyes and mind inside the novel. Through his words, we are able to visualize what's going on, and understand why things happen, thanks to the links he makes.

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Confused?

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Think about walking to class. As you do, you look around, focus on details, and notice things you hadn't seen before. Your mind starts making connections, remembering past experiences, identifying new things. One memory takes you to another. Before you know it, you've created a chain of anecdotes, feelings, and different topics.

We do this all the time. Flaubert does it in his novel. It's a very risky thing to do. The reader may get lost and bored the way I do with my grandmother. Instead, every change of topic is like a wake up sign. It makes us alert. It triggers curiosity.

Where will he take us next?